


Father-Daughter Bonding

by DoodleFox_McGee



Category: Marvel, Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Hurt/Comfort, a lot of my fic ideas are angsty kinda so, also i'm taking history class so i had to put some shit in there somewhere, figured i should release it, had this hiding in my google docs for awhile now, if i ever make more be on a lookout for The Pattern, noir is my dad, there's text in here that isn't canon to the actual noir or peni canons, this is an AU/my own take kinda, who am i to not take requests
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-11-08 04:59:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17974946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoodleFox_McGee/pseuds/DoodleFox_McGee
Summary: Noir catches up with a close friend on May's roof.(update: slightly fixed certain sections of the fic!)





	Father-Daughter Bonding

**Author's Note:**

> i am not confident in this and i am open to criticism, please help me improve uwu
> 
> also this is my first fic so the formatting will likely be poo poo mcbuttshit

One year.

  
One year since the collider went off. One year since they were all together. One year since had gone home and changed the...toy industry of all things. Not the road Peter had thought he was going to head down in his life, but a welcome one nonetheless. It wasn’t as if he still wasn’t fighting crime; every day (he didn’t exactly have days or nights in his world) he went out and punched criminal scum where it counted. He had vast wealth and riches, yet never felt compelled to stop his pursuit of evil on the streets. The money went towards the poor, those who couldn’t defend themselves, those he...couldn’t save.

  
...One year since he last said “I love you all.”

  
Peter was a stone cold man, never flinching in the face of whatever dangers awaited him...but he wasn’t emotionless, either. He had hopes, dreams, aspirations, regrets...he was human, just like everyone else. But people didn’t see him that way in his world. They saw him as a stoic, emotionless, godlike figure, a savior of men in need, someone who’s only source of joy was egg creams and the thrill of kicking a Nazi’s teeth in. That wasn’t what he was. There wasn’t a day where he didn’t think about uncle Benjamin and how he couldn’t save him, how he wasn’t going to make the same arrogant mistake he did back then. He knew damn well that you can’t save everyone, but God help him if he wasn’t trying his hardest.

  
His extended family was...weird. After they all went back home, one of them (Peni, he assumed) had found a way to go between their universes without the use of the super-collider thing that this universe’s Fisk had made. He personally didn’t understand what she said about it; he was smart, but what she had discovered was on a whole other level that he needed more time to grasp. Of course, the kids understood it; she first shared the discovery with Gwen, who then shared it with Miles first via a surprise visit to his world, followed by the two individually showing up at everyone else’s universes to physically share the discovery. When they arrived in his world, he was in the middle of taking down a gang of crooks, and it only dawned on him that there weren’t two other spider-people in his universe usually. Now, they were all in Miles’s universe for a reunion of sorts, ending up at the residence of this universe’s Aunt May to reconnect and just generally have a good time.

  
And here he was, sitting on the roof, staring at the horizon.

  
Color wasn’t real where he was. It’s why the Rubix cube was a success in his world; people thought he was bending reality or some jargon. He was distributing the thing and even he couldn’t distinguish blue from green at times. Naturally, it was just black, the absence of color, white, the overabundance of color, and red, a color that came from people rather the streets, the sky, or the stars. In these other worlds, there was an infinite amount of colors; they DID come from the streets, the sky, the stars, and so much more than that. Everyone wore colors, buildings in his world that would be monochrome are bursting with life, there were colors he never even dreamed of (he gasped when he saw Miles mix red and blue into purple)...he’d always miss his home if he left it, but the life of these other universes is something he secretly coveted...only just a little.

  
He wasn’t sitting on the roof to brood...okay, maybe he was just a little. He was up there to stare at nature’s gift to the work, pointing out each hue the sunset provided. He could identify purples, pinks, reds - wait, no, those were oranges, yellows...sometimes the orange and purple collided and...wow. He wasn’t visibly showing it, but Peter was in heaven right now.

  
...Although he should get back to the others.

  
Miles was a year into this whole Spider-Man thing and had already come into his own. The public, still not ready to let go of the past, still called him Spider-Man as if this universe’s Peter came back from the dead in a slick black and red suit, but to May and the spiders, he was Huntsman-Spider (a name Gwen had brought up that he later adopted). He was on his second year of high school and seemed to be more used to Horizon High’s atmosphere. He had tanked foes that Peter had never heard of before, names like Electro and Big Wheel escaping the kid’s lips. Aunt May also let him use Peter’s hidden lair under her shed for recouping and working on new equipment for his crime-fighting nights. Knowing his time period from history class, Miles also sought aid from Peter when it came to the happenings of the Nazi party in the 1930’s. Their worlds may be different, but their timelines seemed to be going down a similar path.

  
Gwen seems to be doing well as well, at least from what he had gathered. She had entered her second year of high school as well and established herself as the Spider-Woman in her universe, taking down even weirder threats than Miles had (Typeface? Hypno Hustler? Who were these guys?). She was also going places with her drumming hobby, introducing Peter to some of her favorite bands and music genres. Some of the stuff she had introduced him to wasn’t even conceivable where he came from, like...rock and roll? He liked what he heard, and she even said it was coming later down the pipeline for him. Although that “dub-step(?)” genre she tried to introduce him to did not mesh well with him in the slightest.

  
Parker (Peter was confused when “Peter!” was yelled out and three out of the six spiders turn their heads in unison, so Parker was what he referred to Peter B. as) was faring much better than when he last saw him. He got back with Mary Jane after a messy divorce and seemed to be happier, losing twenty pounds and getting back into the “swing” of things. Unlike the other two, he _did_ know exactly who Parker was talking about when he described his recent escapades; shifty characters like the Jackal, the Vulture, that Smythe kid...it’s almost as if him and Parker were on the same wavelength. Peter unwound around Parker, acting as if they’ve been friends for years and discussing more adult matters. He made a strict rule to never utter a swear around the kiddos, but with Parker, everything was on the table, and multiple discussions had turned into fits of laughter from both parties.

  
Then you had...Ham. Ham didn’t work like the others; being a cartoon, he didn’t really age and advance like the rest of the group. He was more or less the same from when Peter last saw the walking, wisecracking cartoon pig. That isn’t to say Ham is a bad person; far from it in fact. It’s just that his quippy persona never let up even outside of battle, almost as if the costume was permanent and that taking it off would force Ham to let down this quippy persona and-

  
...Or maybe that’s just how Ham is.

  
Peter wasn’t used to “happiness” where he came from. Back there, the economy wasn’t happy, the poor weren’t happy, the criminals weren’t happy...to see such liveliness and joy come from a person was somewhat foreign to him. He was lucky to have anything during the depression, to the point where he specifically priced the cube so that would mean that even the poorest of souls could come and buy it, just so everyone has an opportunity at happiness, even if it’s temporary. Even if it was for a few seconds, even if it didn’t prevent crime and Nazis, it provided something in someone’s life, which meant it was worthwhile in the long run. Just to give someone a spark of glee, ANYTHING -

  
God dammit, he was rambling again.

  
Peter sighed, staring at the colors above him before beginning to get up and head back down to meet the others.

  
“...Hey, Noir.”

  
Peni. He had completely forgotten about Peni.

  
She hadn’t made what she was doing known to the rest of the group. She did change schools, however...that, or she simply got a new school uniform. He did know that she had rebuilt her automaton, however, and in a form that was somehow sleeker than the last one. He knew it broke her heart when the original model couldn’t make it out of the collider in one piece, so seeing her back in action admittedly make him grin a bit. She even still called him “Noir”; a nickname she herself came up with that he never used himself, but one that suited him nevertheless.

  
Yet, there was something off about her. She looked fine and acted in the same “kawaii” (Noir had no clue what that word meant, Gwen just told him it was a thing) fashion she had, but as a man who had been internalizing his own fears and regrets for all of his adult life, Peter could tell when someone was hiding something. If he could see it in the cruelest criminals, if he could see it in the most desperate individuals who were just trying to get by, if he could hear it in Roosevelt’s fireside chats, then he could find it in a child. By all means, she was physically fine, but Peter could tell that she was hiding something with the glances she was throwing around the room; he remembered his behavior years ago in similar situations and the anxiety that came with it, so he could easily relate to her in that sense. He wasn’t planning on pressuring her for answers any time soon, but he was still worried and was hoping she would eventually open herself up to someone.

  
Guess that someone was him.

  
“Hey, kiddo.”, Peter said, turning his head to look at her while beginning to sit back down once more.

  
“How’s it…hows it going?”, Peni asked. Her usual confidence was there, but it felt fabricated. False. A facade, even.

  
“Dandy. Just takin’ in the colors a bit more. I was just about to head back in.”, Peter replied, kicking his feet along the edges of the roof. “How about you?”

  
“Uh...I actually came here to tell you something. I...kinda trust you like how I trusted my...y’know.”, the little girl said meekly, seemingly beginning to drop the facade.

  
“I get'cha.”, Peter muttered as he moved to the right, opening for a space for Peni to sit down and stare at the sunset with him. The girl advanced further before sitting down next to him, hugging her legs with her arms and letting out a deep sigh.

  
“I noticed you were actin’ strange since you got here. I’m not going to pressure you into saying anything, but-”

  
“Noir...can you keep what we say between us? Just you and me?”

  
“I swear on my life.”, Peter replied, staring Peni dead in the face with his somewhat bug-eyed mask.

  
The two of them sat in silence for a few more seconds before Peni spoke up a bit more, facing the slowly darkening sky.

  
“...You...fight Nazis, right?”

  
“Best job in the world.”

  
“How do you...stop them?”

  
“Few wallops to the face is what does the trick. Maybe a roundhouse kick or two for the more difficult ones. Tie ‘em up and leave them for the police to find. They’re a relatively weak bunch...Napoleon complex in a way, if you get what I mean.”

  
“Is there a...non-lethal way of dealing with Nazis?”

  
Peter was stumped. To the extent of his knowledge on her world, Nazis were kaput, and if they were around, they’d be in very few quantities. Why was she asking about them in particular?

  
“Peni. I know for a fact you aren’t dealing with any kind of Nazis interference. I know this because if you were, you would invite me over to help take them down-”

  
“I’m being bullied.”

  
Silence. Nothing but the sounds of trees moving in the wind, distant car horns, and the final chirps let out by birds that day as the sun continued to get lower over the horizon.

  
“...Peni, I-”

  
“Y-You know, when I moved to this new school, I thought...I thought everything would be okay. Just like my last few! I’m a smart cookie, I know how to...how to get good grades!”, Peni rambled, the cracks in her voice evident as she opened up more and more.

  
“Peni-”

  
“A-And it isn’t like I’m defenseless! I-I know my way around city-leveling threats, I have the Spider-Sense, but someone shoves me into a locker? That’s when I’m j-just a defenseless kid again. Of course I can take on M.O.R.B.I.U.S., but can I take on someone my age in the hallway? Nope!”, Peni yelled as her quivering voice kept rising, a few tears escaping her eyes.

  
“Kid, I-”

  
“I have no excuse, Noir! Everyone else is so brave and confident in themselves and here I am getting...getting gum stuck in my hair at lunch! I’ve tried telling someone, I really have, b-but it keeps happening and its all my FAULT!!”

  
When Peni yelled, she slammed her fists down on the roof, now fully weeping as she lost her composure. Whimpers and sobs were no longer held back as the proverbial waterworks burst open, fully tearing down her established facade. Behind her usual gleeful personality and air of confidence was just...a kid. A kid who needed to be cared for, a kid who, while possessing high intelligence, still loved candy and stickers. A kid who had lost her father and had the responsibility of saving her city from high rise-sized threats. A kid who could break down and have bad days, just like any other kid.  
Peter saw a lot of himself in her.

  
“Maybe…”, Peni tried to utter before sniffling and breaking into a small crying fit, “Maybe I don't belong there.”

  
_“Peni.”_

  
The girl turned her watery eyes towards Peter, his mask now pulled off to reveal a square-jawed gray scale-colored face. A five o’clock shadow covered the lower portion of it, the healed wound from a sharp weapon still evident across the left cheek. His eyes, like everything else in his world, were a deep grey, although his right one was is in significantly worse condition from a recent battle. The look within them were of an understanding background laced with regret, regret he couldn’t shake off.

  
“When I fought in the Great War, the only emotion I ever felt was fear. When I lost my friend Harry, fear.When I got home, fear. When I got bitten by the spider, fear. When my uncle Benjamin was...eaten alive, fear. Every time I have to save a hostage, or take down a thug, fear. When I heard Hitler’s speech over the radio, fear. I am constantly afraid of everything around me, but that same fear is what I turn into my most powerful weapon.”

  
“When I look at you, I see the same emotions. You’re alone, you’re afraid, you want someone to confide in. I see a kid with a responsibility greater than she could ever imagine constantly on her shoulders. But I also a genuine soul, someone who only seeks to make the world around them better. Even if it means sacrificing their own happiness, even if it means letting go, I see Peni Parker. The single most ‘badass’ little girl I’ve ever met in my life.”

  
At this point, Peter was tearing up a bit as well, wiping his eyes with his coat sleeve.

  
“You’re braver than you can ever imagine, kid. Back there in the collider, when I said I loved you all, I meant it. You’re a child. None of what’s happening is your fault, and I mean that. Bullies are scary; you deal with kids your age, I deal with fellow brothers and sisters from Germany. Whatever differences they share, it doesn’t matter I’m fifty-something years old. You’re in your second year of high school. You have reason to fear and reason to make that fear your greatest weapon.”

  
“You. Are. Peni. Keester-Kickin’. Parker.”

  
Peter took a deep breath after his speech, the sun almost completely gone from the sky at this point. Peni, completely silent with her mouth slightly ajar, stared at him throughout the entire duration of the speech, her crying now ceased.

  
“...God, those were...some words. I’ve...never been the best motivator, even when I-”

  
Peter was cut off by a sudden embrace by the young girl, wrapping her arms around him and burying her head into his black sweater. Soft sobbing noises could be heard from her once more, although these somehow sounded more “hopeful” rather than “miserable”. Peter, not used to receiving hugs, did the best thing he could think of and embraced her too, rubbing her back with one hand and hugging her with the other. The sun was finally gone, leaving the two under a starry sky made up of blues and blacks.

  
“T-Thank you…”, Peni wept.

  
“...You have any problem, I’m right here for you to confide in.”, Peter replied as he held Peni tightly, not letting go until she was ready to leave.

  
Minutes passed. Minutes of “it’s gonna be okay”, “I’m right here”, and “everything is gonna be alright”. The weeping slowed down to just a few sobs in between gentle breaths. Eventually, Peni sighed and released her grip on Peter, Peter doing the same as he rubbed her eyes.

  
“...I...uh...I think Aunt May was making popcorn when I came up here, so...you wanna go and get some?”, Peni said, putting on her first real smile since she got here, tears still fresh as she wiped her eyes with her arm. Crying seemed to put her in better spirits.

  
“I don’t see why not.”, Noir replied as he slipped his mask back on, one hand on the girl’s shoulder.

  
“Great! I’ll go down and make sure she was actually doing that!”

  
As Peni started running towards the hatch back downstairs, she turned her head and yelled out six words at Peter.

  
“See you in a sec, dad!-”

  
Dad.

  
Peter never really had a dad when he was growing up. He did have a father before his uncle, but...he preferred to think he didn’t exist. His uncle was the closest to a father he ever had, and he was...gone. He never envisioned himself as a father, or even a husband; Gwen said he may be “aromantic” or maybe just not interested in romantic affairs. He was always on the move and lived in a world where danger was very present. At the same time, Peni longed to have a real father figure again. Even if the “dad” part was a slip of the tongue, both of them knew it and knew it well.

  
“Dagnabbit, I’m gonna let her down, aren’t I?”, Peter said to himself internally, staring at her once again.

  
“...I’ll see you in a second, kiddo.”

  
As Peni skipped back down in the house, Peter grabbed his head and began to somewhat panic. She was a child, he was a man who went on frequent missions that endangered himself and could endanger her as well. A dad should always be there for his kid, but he was on the movie twenty-four seven! He didn’t even have legal paperwork to prove he was the father; he didn’t even know to file that paperwork! Especially if they lived in different universes-

  
He was rambling again.

  
Did she actually see him as a father figure?

* * *

 

The two sat around the couch with the rest of the spider-gang, digging into their popcorn as they watched some movie about a kid turned hero when they got locked in a radioactive power plant. A masked vigilante, essentially. Peni dug into her popcorn more than Peter (he wasn’t too hungry) as the movie went on. Halfway through, almost everyone fell asleep; Miles and Gwen had a day worth of crime-fighting and school at that point, Parker went home to sleep with MJ, and Ham…he was Ham. Knowing they couldn’t stay for their own reasons, Peter scooped up at a time, starting with him taking Miles to him and Ganke's dorm, taking Gwen back to her own dorm in her universe, and finally taking Peni to back to hers, traveling back to New York...circa 3149.

  
Upon landing in New York, Noir immediately noticed the sheer amount of color. Neon lights radiated bright reds, blues, greens, and yellows onto the street as sleek cars hovered inches off of the street. A small red building stood in front of Noir, a seemingly derelict old rectangular building from years ago. Knowing better, Noir walked over the large metal door and banged on it with his fist in a specific pattern, the door opening up as the interior lights illuminated the street below, closing behind the man as he stepped inside.

  
Peni's place was quite literally a refurbished car garage. SP//DR was stationed over on a large metal bed, “asleep” as it was a cat. Posters for popular media at the time adorned the walls and ceiling with industrial hooks hanging from said ceiling, bright Christmas lights wrapped around to make a sort of chandelier. Blueprints for machinery covered the floor, ending up next to a oval-shaped carpet with a single jar of candy laying on its side, its pastel-colored contents spilled out slightly. Between all of this was a single desk with a lamp and a stack of finished homework positioned right next to a metal door labeled “PENI'S DOMAIN (Those Who Wish To Enter...Beware…….)” with a small ghost sticker right next to it.

  
Peter, now staring into the kid’s room, noted how smaller it seemed compared to the rest of the place. It must have been a storage closet or something similar, as only her bed and a few other necessities like a mini-fridge and futuristic television were present. Carefully maneuvering around the assorted knick-knacks on the floor, Peter ended up at Peni’s bed and pulled back the covers. Finally, he placed the sleeping girl down and tucked her in for the night, her head resting on a stack of two pillows for support.

  
As he headed for the door, a drowsy yet familiar voiced stirred for a second before it fell silent once more.

  
“mmmm...love you, dad…”, Peni slurred before fully drifting off to bed once more.

  
Peter stood in the doorway, hand gripping the frame as he turned his head at the girl once more.

  
“...I love you too, Peni.”

  
And like that, the door closed behind him.

 

**_ ~Fin~ _ **

**Author's Note:**

> expect more fics from me in the future if i can...y'know, finish them. noir is my dad and i phucking love him


End file.
